And it’s a good thing, too. The front door to the cabin opens and three other Death’s Disciples emerge to take up guard duty, each holding steaming coffees in one hand and assault rifles in the other.
Son of a bitch, these motherfuckers are armed to the teeth. And they have fucking coffee. Motherfuckers.
Then Switchblade strikes Kendra again. And his namesake knife comes out, and he runs the flat of the blade across her face with a loving caress. My stomach twists as I watch Kendra twist and howl beneath his torture. I hardly know her, but that doesn’t matter — whatever kind of sicko Switchblade is, he needs to be put down like a rabid animal. No one treats a woman like that and lives.
“Easy, babe. Easy,” I say, turning away from the window and wrapping my arms around her. “I know it hurts, but we can’t go charging in there.’
“That’s my friend, Crash. And he is torturing her.”
“I know. It hurts me, too. Hurts me to see that maniac hurt Josie’s mom and the best friend of the woman I care about. But if we go in there now, we are all going to die. They’ve got enough firepower to blow us the fuck to hell and back. We gotta be smart about this, Vi.”
She looks at me with wounded eyes. It doesn’t matter that I’m speaking sense; I don’t have to feel the heartache of watching my best friend get tortured.
But this is my job. Keep things business.
That’s how I’ve always done things.
And if I stop now, we’ll all be dead.
Then Violet’s eyes widen. Her mouth opens to cry out. Behind me, Switchblade must be doing something worse, something that I’m grateful I don’t witness.
But Vi looks like she’s going to scream. And I can’t have that.
I put my hands over her mouth and squeeze, cutting that pained scream short.
“I don’t care how much it hurts or what you think you saw, you cannot scream. One noise and we are dead. Do you understand me? Nod if you do.”
She tries to nod. It’s hard with my hands over her mouth, but she manages.
When I release my grip, she pulls me tight, a hug that so close it pops my back. And she sobs, silent agony against my chest.
“You good to move?” I whisper.
“No. I don’t want to leave her.”
“We’ll do her no good here, just waiting to get found by those Death’s Disciples. You need to check your fucking emotions and come back to reality. At least for a little while.”
“How can you be so fucking heartless?” Her voice is pain personified.
“Because it’s my job to be. You open yourself up to emotions, you’re just asking to get hurt. Or worse. Now, come on, we need to get out of here.”
She stares death at me — a pained, frustrated death — but she does as I tell her and follows me as I backtrack, heading back toward the spot where we were to meet up with Blaze yesterday.
We make it maybe five minutes down the trail when she stops.
When she breaks.
And, though I’ve told myself repeatedly that emotional investment is dangerous, I can’t help myself.
I hold her.
I break those promises I’ve made to myself. To dedicate myself to business and loyalty to the club above everything.
And I listen to her cries, comfort her as she suffers the heartrending pain of leaving her friend behind to face a monster alone. Though it’s the only option, it doesn’t make it any easier. Then I find the words; words I shouldn’t speak, but words that my heart forces from my reluctant lips.
“Violet, I don’t care what it takes. Even if it costs me my life. I promise you, I’m going to get Kendra back. Because I don’t think you understand just how much I care about you.”
There’s more I want to say, but I stop myself, because I know the second I say those three words that sit on the tip of my tongue that I’ll be in trouble. But, even though I don’t say them, the look that Violet gives me seals the deal; I’m so wrong for her, I’m dangerous and sure to break her world apart if we stay together, and if I care for her, I’ll get as far away from her as I can the second this is over.
But that doesn’t matter right now.
Because, even if I can’t say it out loud, I can’t deny it any longer — I’m in love.
Chapter Seventeen
Violet
He’s callous, cold, dangerous, and all kinds of wrong.
But I just might be in love with him.
No man has ever held me like he has. No man has ever been as steadfast and supportive, as willing to selflessly risk everything to spare me pain.
I hate that I love him. But I love him all the same.
I cry against his chest until the pain in my heart eases. Then, sniffling and feeling more than a little embarrassed by the snotty trail I leave on his coat, I turn around abruptly and start back toward the rendezvous point where we’re supposed to meet Blaze.
We’re almost there when a voice comes out to us from the cover of the trees.
“You guys are late.”
I nearly jump in surprise, but Crash hardly seems phased by the sudden appearance of his friend.
“Yeah, we found a beautiful little cabin,” he says. “Decided to check it out. I might book it for us on Airbnb after this is all over. It smelled like ass and looked like Rusty after a bender. You’d love it.”
“Is that why you guys look so happy this morning?” Blaze says, grinning. Then he holds out a thermos. “Coffee?”
“You made
